The Ultimate Guide to Sales Training: Tips & Tricks

Better Salespeople Begin with Sales Training

Better Sales Figures Begin with Better Salespeople

Better Business Revenue Begins with Better Sales

What would your team look like with sales training? Fully super-charged and scalable new business and customer engagement engine?

Imagine your business full of passion-fuelled teams completely aligned with a modern positive language, elite-level skills, and tools to help them consistently smash their targets…

How would this positively transform your sales strategy, culture, leadership, and the way you conducted business and build relationships?

At The Serial Seller! we don’t just help your salespeople to achieve more…

We empower them with life-changing skills and tools so they can ultimately be more influential and add more value to your business and the customers that you exist to serve.

No trickery, magic potions, or get-rich-quick strategies here…
Our (RAD) rapid learning methodology is designed to fast-track learning and stick retention levels to drive tangible returns.

This is seriously potent ROI-driven training that has generated quite literally millions of dollars in sales.

5 Sales Training Techniques Every Manager Should Know

1. Reward Specific Achievements

Salespeople are driven by goals (probably more so than other employees), which makes an achievement-based training program another excellent option.

But generalizing your team members’ successes won’t make them stick.

A much more effective sales training technique is to tell them they’re doing a good job because they exceeded their goal by a certain percentage or recognize their performance on a particularly difficult call. Always use specifics to make these successes tangible and more meaningful.

Real-world example: Best Buy used this model in its Path to Excellence initiative. Leadership awarded the sales force badges when it utilized concepts taught in training. These badges led to four distinct levels of recognition, ranging from bronze to platinum. Best Buy found that the stores with the highest levels of recognition outsold those with lower recognition levels by three to one.

2. Keep Training Short but Consistent With Micro-Learning

A report by Sales Performance International warns that sales training can be too much of a good thing. Managers might be anxious to develop a highly competent sales force, but the truth is, salespeople — like anyone — generally can’t retain a huge amount of information at one time.

The study found that multi-day sales training events are essentially a waste of money, as approximately 50 percent of the learning content is forgotten within 5 weeks, much less applied to the sales process.

Overtraining can actually be detrimental to your salespeople’s natural talent, crush their confidence, and push technique over ability. Instead, send out reminders via email or encouragements via smartphone. This can enforce effective habits without totally overwhelming your salespeople.

Real-world example: TED Talks exhibit micro-learning at its finest. Industry professionals and thought leaders discuss a variety of topics to teach and inspire in digestible 15-minute increments. Incorporating this method to train salespeople in easily manageable intervals will keep them engaged and help you deliver new information they’ll actually retain.

3. Share Success Stories

According to the National Business Research Institute, employee attitude affects 40 to 80 percent of customer satisfaction, and the study of one retail giant revealed that a one-point increase in employee engagement led to a $200,000 increase in monthly sales per store.

High employee engagement and morale have a direct impact on the bottom line. Sharing mutual successes also instills a sense of unity in your salespeople and encourages them to work harder and smarter.

Real-world example: When salespeople succeed at Yesware, it’s heard around the company (literally). Every sales rep has a “closing song” that gets played when they close a deal, while the rest of the sales team gets up and dances in celebration. When a team member hits their goals, they receive a big gold star for their desk, putting a spotlight on that person’s individual accomplishment and recognizing a job well done.

4. Field Train and Provide Detailed Feedback

Most of our talent development happens in the field. But it’s the analysis and feedback a salesperson receives after a call that resonates.

Supervisors can emphasize perceptive listening to help reps really understand client needs. This will help salespeople avoid pushing a product by providing direct feedback in a real sales situation.

For effective real-world training to happen, a competent leader needs to listen in on sales calls, review recordings, and analyze the person’s performance to offer timely and specific feedback. This should ideally happen hours after the experience so the feedback is fresh and the salesperson can reflect on the experience.

Real-world example: Walgreens implemented “Well Experience” field training to provide hands-on experience in a simulated pharmacy environment. It used games such as merchandise scavenger hunts to familiarize teams with new store layouts, job shadowing in stores with these layouts, and “go live” performance coaching. After 13,000 employees went through the program, confidence levels rose from 42 percent to 90 percent.

5. Use E-Learning to Educate

If your sales team doesn’t know your product from front to back, even the best listeners will fall short in closing a sale. Salespeople need to understand product details to boost their confidence when selling, especially new recruits. With sufficient product training, they can identify specific client issues and understand products details well enough to position them as the perfect solution.

Of course, with remote work, frequent sales calls, and busy schedules, it’s nearly impossible to get your entire sales force in one room for training. That’s where e-learning comes in.

E-learning allows sales teams to brush up on their product knowledge on the go. Through online videos and modules, you can also track progress to ensure that everyone has viewed the necessary materials.

Real-world example: L’Oréal recognized gaps in product knowledge across all members of its sales force and implemented an e-learning program to empower its team. With stylized web-based videos, the company made in-depth product knowledge accessible and memorable for all salespeople.

Select the Appropriate Format for Your Sales Training Program

After completing your assessment, it is now necessary to consider various methods for implementing your sales training using the available resources.

There are various formats available for companies and teams, and no one option is universally applicable. It is recommended to try out different formats and assess their effectiveness based on the team’s structure.

Providing brief interactive sales courses or conducting on-site workshops could be an effective approach for an early-stage startup with a limited sales team to enhance their abilities and foster teamwork.

As a company expands, it may be beneficial for them to hire a consultant or send employees with a focus on sales training, in order to stay updated on industry trends and adjust their approach accordingly.

Let’s take a look at some of the most common formats for delivering sales training:

Use Pre-Planned Sales Training Online Courses

The most effective way to transfer sales knowledge to teammates is through course formats, whether in-person or online.

Sales training programs offered by companies such as Sandler Training, Action Selling, and Rain Group offer learners various flexible learning options, including webinars, gamified programs, and on-demand video series, irrespective of their location.

It is possible to observe and track the progress of the team’s training sessions.

Attend In-Person Sales Workshops

In-person workshops during work hours can enhance your sales training and generate enthusiasm among the team. If feasible, it may be advantageous to suspend operations and convene everyone for training.

When selecting a provider, ensure they offer workshops that provide valuable content.

To ensure effective training, it is important to establish clear objectives and communicate them to the chosen provider. Due to the abundance of training companies with strong marketing strategies, it is recommended to review feedback and discuss objectives prior to selecting a provider.

It is recommended to review the sales team assessment previously conducted in order to select a program that is suitable for your requirements.

Hire Outside Sales Professionals

In situations where a team may be too large or in need of a different perspective, hiring an external consultant for training can be a viable solution.

Hiring an external consultant for onsite sales training may initially appear uncomfortable, but it can bring significant benefits such as access to extensive experience and valuable market insights. Additionally, it may aid in gaining quicker support from your team through the expertise of an outsider.

Attend conferences for sales and industry.

Attending conferences and seminars can provide valuable networking opportunities and allow teams to gain knowledge from established leaders while keeping up with industry trends. As Seneca once said, “While we teach, we learn.”

It is important to emphasize the importance of bringing value back to the company after attending a conference, not only for the benefit of those who were chosen to attend but also to assist those who wish to reinforce their knowledge.

One can create comprehensive databases and wikis to document their sales process.

Providing self-serve resources such as a wiki or Trello board with in-house processes and frequently asked questions can encourage a continuous learning mindset among your team, although it may not directly relate to sales training techniques. Direct your team to this source for answers to their questions. This approach may seem detached, but it is effectively empowering them to find solutions independently.

In Sales, Learning Never Stops

Sales training should be an ongoing process.

The world of sales is a never-ending adventure, full of exciting challenges and opportunities to sharpen your skills. From mastering new techniques to tackling tough objections, from staying ahead of the competition to addressing the latest market trends, there’s always something new to learn and conquer. So grab your sales team and get ready for the ride of a lifetime!

Ready to unlock your sales team’s unstoppable potential? The key is to find the cream of the crop and give them the ultimate training experience. With a thirst for knowledge and a hunger for victory, your sales rockstars will be unstoppable. Unlock the key to skyrocketing success – invest in sales training and watch your profits soar!

The Serial Seller Conclusion

Sales training is an aspect that business owners usually only resort to at the last moment. Sales skills are something that can change a business from bleak to booming… but hiring sales people is a lot of the time one of the hardest things for a business owner as they are expensive and need someone to look after them.

If you are a business owner and looking for sales success, you will need to implement a good sales process with sales training. This training involves;

• Sales Techniques
• Sales Goals
• Sales Management
• Sales Pitch
• Customer Service
• Sales Cycle
• Sales Development
• Sales Funnel
• Sales Methodology

In your business, Sales should be treated as a sales game to incentivize sales reps to be engaged with sales prospects and this should be further driven by sales leaders.

If you are at the stage where you need more sales, your sales plan should focus your sales organization on lead generation, generating, and qualifying leads.  Sales representatives including business development representatives should help identify potential customers. 

If you want help with setting up & structuring your sales team. Contact Us Now